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Comments on news posted 2003-11-11 13:57:21: VoIP is everywhere, wireless quality and coverage is improving, and broadband prices are dropping; is it time to ditch your home phone?. ..
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terrywin
join:2003-08-28
Hillsboro, MO
| Power outtage or not... When the power goes out, since I use a cordless phone, it makes no difference. I guess I could get off my bum and take a trip to Dollar General and pick up a non-cordless one for $5.
If I switch from SBC to Vonage, I'd save over $75/mo. But for now, I'm limited to dialup and landline service until some DSL/Cable/Wireless provider comes to my rescue. | |
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DPF
So Tired
join:2003-09-02
Naperville, IL
| Just my opinion Well, I ditched POTS a while ago and couldn't be happier. Got Vonage, piped throughout house and it works great. Just to have phone service for me from SBC here was $65/month, before long distance. Now with Vonage, wife can talk til she passes out. Cable modem, router, ATA all on a variety of UPS's and have continued operating in short blackouts.
We're DINK's so 911 service isn't as much of an obstacle for us. Now if we had kids, ideas may be different.
All I know is, I cut at least $30 (+LD) off the phone bill per month going to Vonage, and since she can use that for LD, I was able to reduce our cell packages as well for another $50 savings per month. Voicemail has more features than POTS could ever provide. No tack on fees for other features (CallerID, etc).
Yes, 911 is a concern, but for 100-150 bucks a month (including LD and cell overage charges, thanks wife), it's worth it to me in our current status.
Oh, and I've got the Series2 Tivo through BB as well. All on WOW cable which is rock solid and has as much to do with my happiness with VOIP as anything.
-DPF
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| nucmed
join:2002-10-30
Coram, NY
|  don't keep it for the tivo
Another problem that arises for users who have Tivo and want to ditch their landline is the fact the Tivo units still utilize dial-up connectivity to confirm program orders. Vonage clearly states in their equipment FAQ that their VoIP service does not support DirecTV and Tivo, though Vonage anticipates a solution "shortly". It's an issue that pops up often in blogs across the web (PVR blog).
According to users in our Satellite and TV forum however, the land-line is only used to "poll" Tivo devices, and may not be necessary. If you can confirm or deny this, please post in the comments section below this story to assist your fellow Tivo/DirecTV fans.
I have my tivo hooked up to my router, all you need is a usb to ethernet network card there sold for 29 bucks. You initially have to hook up your tivo w/dialup if you have old software on your tivo, but this can be easily solved buy bringing your tivo over someones house that has dialup and downloading an up date. there is a link at www.tivo.com that explains how to do this. You can even go wireless w/your tivo!!!!!!!!! | |
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MO-2
@broadwayvillage.com
|  Make the move and free yourself...
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| | scooper
join:2000-07-11
Youngsville, NC
| Re: Make the move and free yourself... Dropping the phoneline is not an option - My DSL requires it. That said - I have NEVER been without dialtone, and as long as I have dialtone - I have DSL (need a generator for extended outages). OTOH - power is USUALLY pretty reliable - but not perfect. Wireless only phone won't work even if we used cable modem instead - our house sometimes blocks the RF. I keep one old fashioned line powered phone hooked up in the kitchen for those power outages. I cut cable out of the house several years ago - DBS is the way to go - if the weather is too bad for that, my own antenna fills in nicely. | |
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insomniac
Oh Yeah
Premium
join:2002-09-22
Naperville, IL
clubs:
 ·AT&T Midwest
| Need landline to run TiVo Guided Setup initially »customersupport.tivo.com/tivokno···164.htm?
If you have a wired Ethernet connection, it is possible to repeat Guided Setup using broadband, but you must have a landline to run Guided Setup initially.
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If everything seems to be going well, you've obviously overlooked something. | |
| | therage57
join:2002-01-03
Salt Lake City, UT
| Re: Need landline to run TiVo Guided Setup initial said by insomniac  :
»customersupport.tivo.com/tivokno···164.htm?
If you have a wired Ethernet connection, it is possible to repeat Guided Setup using broadband, but you must have a landline to run Guided Setup initially.
That sucks! Well I'm getting rid of my landline so If I don't order Tivo before then too bad for Tivo. Time for these companies to modernize. | |
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MrMaster
What If
Premium
join:2000-12-16
Austin, TX
clubs:
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| Been POTS free for over 2 yrs It will be 3 yrs in February that I have been without a landline.
Any regrets? Hell no. I have verizon and use to have US Cellular(without a landline) and I have had exactly 1 dropped call in this time frame. (2 months ago with verizon)
I am rarely home, majority of my friends live long distance away from me, I have a cable modem so I don't need a landline for DSL, why should I check voicemail on my landline when I can just answer the phone anytime because it is always on me. (excluding movies and certain other places obviously)
If there is an emergency that I would need to dial 911 from my home, wouldn't you know your own address?
SBC (formerly Ameritech) isn't that cheap up here.
I don't use VOIP nor would I consider getting it when I use my cellphone exclusively.
So where is the unreliability factor?
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Packers rule. Bears suck. 'Nuff said. | |
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Bobcat
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Bedminster, NJ
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: Been POTS free for over 2 yrs said by MrMaster :
If there is an emergency that I would need to dial 911 from my home, wouldn't you know your own address?
So where is the unreliability factor?
I've called 911 from my cell phone several times. IF the call goes through, it has taken 2 or 3 minutes to get to talk to someone, and then it's just a message-taker, not a real dispatcher. So who know how much more time is lost (not to mention the possibilities of errors) getting the message to a dispatcher. There's no way I'd bet my life on a cell phone 911 call.
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"We know where they are."
» Donald Rumsfeld on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, March 30, 2003. | |
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oponline
@optonline.net | Optimum Voice i got optimum voice from Cablevision about a month ago its great and cheep 34.99 unlimited long distance and local.
not a single problem and its crystal clear. VOIP will take over once more cable companies deploy their phone services. | |
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Bobcat
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Bedminster, NJ
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: Optimum Voice There's no way I'd trust Cablevision to carry a 911 call. Also, my cable connection dies with every power failure, so I'm keeping my landline.
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"We know where they are."
» Donald Rumsfeld on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, March 30, 2003. | |
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Sisqo
World Champs. Babe Who?
Premium
join:2002-08-14
Methuen, MA
| Not for me! Although VoIP is nice I will not use it for now, until a few things are resolved!
I love my landline phone & the stability, plus I'm waiting since I know Verizon will be offering VoIP sometime in the future.
Also although VoIP is clear it is definately not no landline. So quality beats price for me  | |
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LordMalak
join:2003-07-02
Brazil
|  BBR hype machine at work again...
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SBC DSL Tech Support. | |
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DracoFelis
Premium
join:2003-06-15
| Re: BBR hype machine at work again... said by LordMalak :
I don't know about you all, but no one I communicate with around here has VoIP, so all those services are pretty useless.
Figures that I would get such ignorance from an SBC employee. From my experiences with SBC, this is just "par for the course". 
Obviously you have no idea what VoIP services are out there. For example, I don't personally know anyone else that is on VoIP, but that doesn't stop me from using my $20/month Packet8 account to call (or be called) by the people I know. It even includes unlimited/free long distance calling to anywhere in the USA or Canada (for that $20/month price)!
Yes, some of the "pure plays" (especially the "free services") in VoIP are limited to just talking to others on the same service. However, most of the major VoIP providers allow you to call (or be called) by anyone with a normal phone. | |
| jdir
join:2001-05-04
Santa Clara, CA
| Home phone obsolete? Hahahaha Look like who ever wrote the article forget to mention that if you want DSL, you still need to subscribe to your local telco, and you still need to have a voice line, not only that DSL, and Cable is not widely available. Just ask what's the percentage of people subscribe to DSL or Cable or is it fully available to everyone.
Sure, VOIP is here to stay, but try to use your VoIP phone and dial 911 or any emergency service. In the end, people still use that old reliable voice line. | |
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DracoFelis
Premium
join:2003-06-15
| Re: Home phone obsolete? Hahahaha said by jdir :
Look like who ever wrote the article forget to mention that if you want DSL, you still need to subscribe to your local telco, and you still need to have a voice line
True. Which is one key reason I still have a POTS line. However, we are down to one POTS line (we previously had two), and I have stripped off all "optional features", including LD service, from that last remaining POTS line.
OTOH: VOIP seems to be "good enough" for 2nd/3rd/etc phone lines into the house. Our house/family is "big enough" (me, my wife, three teenage girls, and my mother-in-law), that it really helps to have a 2nd phone line. I can get a Packet8 VOIP line (with free long distance, and a rate center in the city where I work) for less than we were previously paying for our 2nd POTS line (with "no extra features", including LD or the "rate center we would have liked, built in). So Packet8 is saving me money on our 2nd phone line, even if we made no LD calls on it (and we do make use of the "free LD" on the Packet8 line, to save even more).
said by jdir :
Sure, VOIP is here to stay, but try to use your VoIP phone and dial 911 or any emergency service. In the end, people still use that old reliable voice line.
True. I admit that I like having at least one "land line" into our house (for the "security" it provides).
Also, many telcos (including mine), won't sell you DSL without also selling you "dial tone" on at least one POTS line (it's technically possible to sell "DSL only", but most telcos refuse to do it). So it's currently a "moot point" for me, even if I wanted to "cut the last POTS line" (as I can't afford to drop my only practical broadband option right now). | |
| | btrdad
join:2003-11-14
Bristol, PA | Before I could even use my VOIP I had to subscribe to local 911 service. When I did subscribe they sent me a confirmation Email stating that my 911 was active and it showed my telephone number and street address. Not sure what you are talking about. | |
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Bobcat
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Bedminster, NJ
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: Isn't 911 required on all landlines... said by ODYSSEY :
Isn't 911 required on all landlines...
No, it's not. In New Jersey, if you don't get at least a low use landline account (costs approx $12 including taxes), your line will be disconnected. You won't get a dialtone, and you won't be able to call 911.
--
"We know where they are."
» Donald Rumsfeld on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, March 30, 2003. | |
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pcdebb
RIP dadkins
Premium
join:2000-12-03
Tampa, FL
clubs: | i want it i wish i could get VOIP where I am (maybe it's available? dunno) havent had a home phone in almost a year. Where can I get info? | |
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DracoFelis
Premium
join:2003-06-15
| Re: i want it said by pcdebb :
i wish i could get VOIP where I am (maybe it's available? dunno)
Some of the larger VoIP players do provide access to a lot of "rate centers" (areas with "local" numbers for people to call your VoIP phone). You can check their web sites, to see if they offer service in your area. However, even if you can't find a local "rate center", you can still go with VoIP, as long as you are willing to take a phone number "out of region" (and you have the necessary internet connectivity in your home).
For example, I got Vonage (which I have since dropped, in favor of Packet8) about three months before they were offering any "rate centers"/"service" in my area. But this didn't stop me from signing up. All I did was ask Vonage for a "phone number" in one of the states that they did "offer service" in. As a result, I was issued a Minnesota VoIP phone number, when I live in Wisconsin.
No problem! While it's a little "weird" to have a phone number that is "local" to a region (in my case a different state) than where you are physically present, the technology doesn't care where you are physically (all you need on your end is the internet connectivity, you don't necessarily need your phone number to be "local" to you). And since many VoIP plans include "free LD" (just as many cell plans do), it really doesn't matter if you have to "call LD" to reach your friends "down the street". Of course, this isn't a totally new concept, as people have been carrying around their cell phone to different states for years....
said by pcdebb :
havent had a home phone in almost a year. Where can I get info?
Check out the "Voice Over IP" forum (on this exact same web site) perhaps? That's where I learned a lot about what VoIP options are out there. | |
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Chinabound
Premium
join:2002-12-21
Antioch, IL
clubs:
·Comcast
| Unthinkable I am really surprised so many people either have eliminated their home telephones, or plan to do so. For us, we don't see that happening any time soon. Not only do we require it for most of the reasons mentioned in this thread already, but another very important reason. My wife is from China, and we use a great calling card for calling her province (ChongQing)....usually for $8.00 we get 600 minutes. We have Cingular service for our cell phone, but use the landline for our international calls to her hometown. I pick up the other extension, and have learned to speak a lot of Mandarin from our phone calls. Kinda cool that there are so many reasons to keep your home phones, and so many reasons not too! Ours will remain for a long time, I am sure. | |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| We would, if we could, but SBC won't let us....
You can't dump POTS, even if you want to, or they'll switch off your DSL too. Classic case of enforced bundling to make you pay for service you don't want or need.
Oh and SBC's excuse?
"Our billing system isn't set up to bill people for services without a phone number tied to the account..."
Well, they've only had 4 years to fix it. Surprise, they have no interest in fixing it.
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"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) | |
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T_Wrecks
The Truth Doesn't Make A Noise
Premium
join:2003-08-21
Garden State
| Re: Bellco smellco said by PthirusPubis6 :
While spreading their E911 fear, the shills seem to forget that their service does go down and it can take days to get it repaired.
»www.thedigest.com/more/146/146-245.html
Plus e911 DOES exist. People are making it out like a call to 911 using VoIP spells instant doom.
You know...there was a time not so long ago when NO ONE had 911. You just called the police. Anyway...no one wants to take a step backwards, but lets keep things in perspective.
--
Check Out My Pictures | |
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Nikita
Snow
Premium,MVM
join:2001-11-26
clubs:
| Exploring the Idea My mom was the one who approached me about VOiP which was somewhat scary since she doesn't even know how to really use a mouse let alone send e-mail. But both her and I have cellphones and our landline is so rarely used the caller ID box has a layer of dusk on its screen. Verizon charges us all this dough for something we rarely use if ever in a month's period. Flat rates in NYC start at 30 bucks a month for nothing.
Unfortunately even for job applications they like a landline number and will frown when you give them a cellphone number. | |
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Maggs
Premium
join:2002-11-29
Woodside, NY
·RCN CABLE
1 edit | Re: Exploring the Idea RCN has basic phone unlimited service for $20 plus tax. It comes out to about $35 total. Landlines are more professional for business contacts. The cell phones have spotty service, and voicemail is annoying too. Plus landline services can be checked in a background check. | |
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treeman
Premium
join:2000-07-15
Mcgaheysville, VA
·Comcast
| Phone for satillite service Although Directv says that we need to have a landline hooked to our satellite box,the only time we have done this is when we install a new box,the line is then disconnected.At all locations around the house(M/B-kids rooms-L/R-Kit-and even the shed)we can record-order pay-per view without problems-The boxes are Samsung and Hughes(HDTV) | |
|
Jaie
@208.150.x.x
| Landlines give trouble too
I gave up my landline about a year ago when BellSouth was going to charge me almost $150 to "move" my service down two flights of stairs to a new apartment in the same building. I'm saving about $50 a month before you include the cost of long distance calls that are included in my cell phone plan but that I had to pay for individually on my landline phone. The customer service from Verizon is much better than the service from BellSouth as well. | |
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911 Services Negate Obsolescense
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